


Here I Come

by imagineyou (jokerindisguise)



Category: Ready or Not (2019)
Genre: Character Death, Curses, Daniel Le Domas is a Good Guy, Demon Deals, Gen, Hide and Seek, Mentioned canon pairings, Movie Spoilers, Reader Insert, Reader is a Le Domas, Ritual Sacrifice, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 09:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jokerindisguise/pseuds/imagineyou
Summary: You are the younger sibling of Daniel, Alex, and Emilie Le Domas. The Le Domas family is one that depends on a potentially deadly tradition to maintain its wealth. You've long thought that you would forever be alone rather than force someone to join the Le Domas family, since you don't want your intended partner ending up like your Aunt Helene's husband.When your older brother, Alex, brings home Grace with the intention of marrying her, you're worried that she will pull the dreaded 'Hide and Seek' card during the mandatory family game night following the wedding. Everyone but Grace knows that it calls for a hunt and bloodshed.When Grace is unfortunate enough to pull the card, you resolve to save her no matter what the cost. It's about time someone broke the family tradition, right? Might as well be you.





	Here I Come

**Author's Note:**

> I saw Ready or Not on Sunday, wrote the bulk of this on Monday, and decided to actually post it today. I'm sure no one actually cares about this, but I had to write this, and I figured I might as well post it. I thought this would be a 1k drabble, but it ending up being this, so I hope it's at least enjoyable. 
> 
> If you haven't seen the movie, then some parts of this won't make much sense. I tried to make it as user friendly as possible, though. I highly enjoyed Ready or Not, so if you haven't seen it, then I definitely recommend it. This does contain spoilers for the movie, so if you haven't seen it and don't want the movie spoiled for you, then you should totally watch it first. :)

You were never under the impression that the Le Domas family was by any means a normal family. Your family was dysfunctional, like every other family, but you were sure your family was leaps and bounds worse than the others. Your ancestor had made a deal with someone called Mr. Le Bail. Evidently, Mr. Le Bail gave your family wealth through the Le Domas family gaming dominion in return for a promise to perform a few rituals that had to be passed down through the family over generations. You were coached over the course of your life to uphold the traditions and rituals that would keep your family wealthy. You weren’t to tell anyone that the rituals included sacrifice or that certain traditions were to be kept to or your whole family would die. 

As you grew older, you resented your family more than anything. They were broken and fragile, held together through greed and fear. Even though you grew up around them, you still felt like you didn’t really know any of them save for your siblings. 

There was a cloud hanging over your family. You knew part of it must have been due to the fact that your Aunt Helene had lost her husband on her wedding night. There was a Le Domas tradition that stated anyone joining the family had to play a game. An entity known as Mr. Le Bail supposedly chose the game. There was Old Maid, Chess, Checkers, and all kinds of other dumb games that held no real meaning. The only card you didn’t want to draw was ‘Hide and Seek.’ It meant there would be a hunt. It called for bloodshed and sacrifice. It meant that an innocent person had to die before dawn, someone in the family would be left brokenhearted, and your family would continue to be one of the richest families in the world. It was the card the Aunt Helene’s husband, Charles, drew on their wedding night. He didn’t live to see the next day with his new bride. 

Basically, Mr. Le Bail owned your family. You grew up serving someone you didn’t even know without a choice. You were sure that no other seven-year-old in the country was taught about the correct way to sacrifice an animal so that their family could stay wealthy. It was stupid and you hated it. You threatened to leave the family every chance you were afforded. You knew guilt at a young age. It weighed you down until you felt like you were at a breaking point. You knew something had to change, but you weren’t sure how it would happen. It seemed your family was stuck in the cycle and you dreaded the thought of it continuing. 

Aunt Helene had grown cold and distant during the years after her husband was sacrificed. Your mom and dad liked to act like everything was normal, but if you or one of your siblings put one foot out of line, one threat to not uphold tradition, and they suddenly changed into the type of parents you hid away in your room from. They wanted one big, happy family, but you didn’t know how that would ever be possible when almost all of their children resented them in one way or another. 

Daniel was your big brother. He was the oldest. He always protected you and your siblings. He was the only one in the family you actually cared about, because you knew that he had a soul. Alex, your other brother, went along with the motions. He said he didn’t care about the family or the traditions, but as you both got older, you weren’t sure if that was entirely true. Emilie, your sister, was more of a lost cause. She was the only one who seemed to actually be unfazed by the weird family you all were born into, but you were sure that her growing interest in cocaine during her teenage years had something to do with that. She lost herself to drugs like Daniel lost himself to alcohol. 

You stuck close to the family, but left as often as you could. You went to college. You made friends, but didn’t get too close to them, knowing that there wasn’t much you could do to ever make them understand you. You came home for big events like Daniel’s wedding to Charity and Emilie’s marriage to Fitch. You stayed away when your mom called you and asked you to come for a family dinner. You never brought friends home. You never told anyone that you were even a part of the Le Domas family. You didn’t want to be part of a family so fucked up, but you felt like you were stuck. 

When you were in your junior year of college, you fell in love. They were beautiful, kind, and hilarious. They made you smile for what felt like the first time in your whole life. You were with them for a few years, even through graduate school, before the word ‘marriage,’ started to fall through their lips and into conversations more and more. You tried to dissuade them. You told them they wouldn’t want to go anywhere near your family. They reassured you that they were in it for you and not your family. When it came down to it, you couldn’t go through with it. If they drew the wrong card, then it would all be over. The love of your life would be dead, and even if they survived playing hide and seek, then you would die. If they didn’t draw the wrong card, then they basically had to sell their soul to stay in the family. You decided the only way you both survived to live and love another day was if you broke it off. So, you did.

It was hard and you started drinking more to cover up just how upset you really were. You found yourself hanging out with Daniel more and more, trading barbs with Charity, and wondering why the hell Daniel ever gave her the time of day. You threw yourself into your schoolwork and graduated with your degree. Once you had it, you took off for a year, barely bothering to keep in touch with your family.  
Daniel called you from time to time. He told you he just wanted to check in, but sometimes you thought he might miss his drinking buddy. Other times, you wondered if he was playing his role as big brother and trying to keep his siblings in line. Either way, you made sure to always take his calls, because he was the only person in your family that you could really stand to talk to. 

You thought it was the best idea you ever had to take off and never look back, but one call from Alex fucked everything up for you. 

It turned out that Alex was getting married and he wanted you to be at the wedding. 

You weren’t close, but you couldn’t turn him down. It was a family tradition and if everything ended up being turned on its head, then you wanted to be there to see the Le Domas family estate burn. 

You felt guilt and dread as you made your way back to your childhood home. You had only met Grace a couple of times during the year and a half that Alex had dated her, and you couldn’t help but think that she was far too good for your family. You didn’t understand why he would take such a risk with the person he claimed to love more than anyone. It didn’t sit right with you, but you knew it wasn’t really your place to say anything. If it came down to it, then you told yourself that you would help Grace. It was the only way you could stomach going back home after a year of being away. 

You showed up back at the mansion without speaking to anyone. You were there for a day before you came across your mother in the sitting room. You probably should have known better than to wander out of your room in search of a drink.

“Y/N! When did you get in?”

“Yesterday,” you answered, letting your mother pull you into a hug.

“Well, dear, why didn’t you let us know? We could have had dinner together!”

You shrugged your shoulders, looking for an escape. It came in the form of Daniel walking into the sitting room. “I just came to get a drink,” he said, barely glancing at you or your mother. “Oh, Y/N’s here.”

“I’m here,” you agreed, waving your hands in a ‘ta-da’ gesture. 

“Bet you wish you weren’t,” Daniel said with a smirk. 

“Daniel! Your sister loves us.”

“Of course I do,” you told your mom with an insincere smile. She didn’t notice, of course. She never saw the bigger picture. It was always family above everything else, even her own moral standing. 

“Well, I need to make sure everything is in order for the big day.” She rubbed her hands up and down your arms before squeezing your shoulders. “Don’t go running off on me,” she warned before she turned and left the room. 

“Want a drink?” Daniel offered, holding up a bottle of whiskey.

“God, yes,” you answered, walking over to grab the glass Daniel offered you. “I guess we’re in for another family game night,” you said. You considered your drink for a moment. “I really thought Alex was different.”

"Of course he is,” Daniel argued before he took a sip of his drink. “Alex is the best of us," he added.

You couldn't help but laugh. "He's always been your favorite. Of course you see him that way."

Daniel quirked an eyebrow at that. "What way?"

"You think he's this paragon of virtue, but he's not. Deep down, he's just like the rest of them."

"He's not," Daniel denied. 

"He is! If he was so good and amazing, then he wouldn't be marrying Grace."

"What are you going on about?"

"He's selfish, Daniel. If there was a chance that the one person you supposedly loved more than anyone was going to die, then would you really put them in that position? If he really loved her, if he was really a good guy, he would tell her to run and never look back. He would let her _go_.” Your voice broke on the word ‘go,’ and you couldn’t hide your wince at the sound of it leaving your mouth. 

Daniel watched you for a moment. "Is that what happened with you and your ex?"

You shrugged your shoulders, looking away. "I let them run. I didn't want to chance anything."

"They might not have drawn the card."

You let out another laugh that sounded too close to a sob for your comfort. "It's not just the game. It's this family. Why would I willingly subject anyone to this? The ritual and sacrifice? It's not right," you said with a shake of your head. "I'll be alone forever before I bring anyone else into this family."

Daniel sighed and set his glass on the table beside him. "Come here," he said, gesturing you forward. 

You rolled your eyes and stepped forward, letting him pull you into a hug.

"You're not alone, little sister. You've got us."

You smirked and pulled away to look up at him. "How comforting," you replied.

He barked out a laugh and ruffled your hair. "Once the wedding is over, we can come back in here and toast to another family gathering being over. Then I’m sure you can run as far away as you want until one of Emilie’s kids ties the knot.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, wishing that you could just skip the wedding and game night altogether. 

“So, let’s get this show on the road,” Daniel said, clapping his hands before turning and grabbing his drink to drain the rest of it.

The wedding felt like a blur. You sat in your seat beside Daniel and Charity with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. Grace seemed so innocent. She wasn’t yet brought down by this family. You couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t too late. Alex could just run away. They didn’t have to get married. There didn’t need to be a wedding.

A part of you hoped that if Alex couldn’t see reason, then maybe Grace would be able to. However, the more you witnessed Daniel hint at Grace that she should run, the more you were sure that she wasn’t going anywhere without Alex. 

You felt sick at the thought of having to go through with another family game night. You wished that Grace would draw a boring card. You hoped she got Chess like Charity or Old Maid like Fitch. Sitting around the table, you couldn’t keep your hands from shaking as you watched Grace take the box that would decide her fate. 

You hoped it wouldn’t be anything to worry about. You wanted Grace to have a family, even if it was this one. You didn’t want that desire and longing on her face to diminish. You could see that she so badly wanted to fit in, and part of you didn’t have the heart to tell her that she chose the wrong family. You might have understood why Alex went through with the marriage in the first place, but you couldn’t help but think it was incredibly selfish of him. If he loved Grace, then he should have let her go. Now, it was too late to turn back. Grace would have to draw a card and she would have to play a game. 

You squeezed your eyes shut at the sight of the ‘Hide and Seek,’ stamped on the card. “Fuck,” you whispered, hoping that when you opened your eyes, it would be a different game. Any game but that one.

“Hide and seek?” Grace asked, her tone light as if she wanted to laugh it all off. You knew that she didn’t understand what was wrong. You knew that she thought it was all just a fun, quirky tradition of the Le Domas family. You knew that she was going to get herself killed if she didn’t take this seriously. You knew that you would have to save her. 

You waited and thought of what you had to do. Grace was given to the count of one hundred to hide and the Hide and Seek song was played throughout the mansion. You stood in a line with your family as your dad doled out the weapons, staring down at the gun in your hand and knowing that you had no intention of using it against Grace. 

You glanced down the line and noticed that Daniel looked as uninterested in his weapon as you did. Fitch was studying the crossbow, obviously confused about how to use it. You were worried that Emilie was given a weapon, since she was still buzzing from the cocaine in her system and couldn’t be trusted to walk from one room to the next without tripping, let alone kill someone without injuring everyone else in the process. 

Alex was sitting on the couch behind you, his head in his hands. You knew he was still likely in shock. You pitied him for a moment, but then thought that he had been foolishly optimistic about the turnout of this night. You couldn’t rely on Alex. He wouldn’t do what needed to be done to save Grace. He folded under the pressure of the family time and again. If it came down to it, then you couldn’t trust him to make the right choice. 

You couldn’t help but think that the only other person besides Alex who would want to see Grace survive the night was Daniel. You knew he shared your views on the family. He thought the Le Domas family was just as fucked up as you did. If you were going to pull this off, then you would have to get him on board with your plan.

You waited until you could get Daniel alone. He was pouring himself a drink in the lounge when you found him. You set the gun your father had handed to you on the bar, hoping to forget it there. Maybe you could pass it off to Grace somehow. She was going to need to arm herself if she had a hope of getting out of the house alive. 

"I need your help, Daniel."

"Help? Killing Grace?" He looked shocked for a moment, as if he couldn't believe that you would want to murder anyone.

"I'm going to help her. I'm going to get her out of here." You had your gaze fixed on the door, wary that anyone else in your family would come into the room and realize what you had planned.

"And if the curse is true? You'd let us all die?" 

You bit your lip, not wanting to turn to look at him just yet. "The only way out of this family for any of us is through death. I should have left a long time ago," you said, finally meeting Daniel's eyes. 

"You'd let Emilie's kids die?" You couldn’t tell if he was shocked or just waiting to see what you said. You were worried that this would be the point in the conversation when Daniel turned you over to the others, branding you a traitor in their eyes. You’d end up sitting out the rest of the night like Alex. You wouldn’t be able to help Grace. You glanced over at the gun still resting on the bar, wondering if you would have to use it against the only family member you actually respected. 

"I'm not making this decision lightly, Daniel. But think about it. Even this young, those kids are ready to see someone die. It's never going to stop unless we do something."

Daniel sighed and finished off his drink. He let the glass drop to the floor and you watched it roll away. "Let's do this," he agreed. 

You let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, little sis. We still have to figure out a way to get Grace out of here.” 

Your plan involved you playing along. You feigned interest in finding Grace to offer her up to the ritual that would keep your family alive and wealthy. You pretended to help your family track her. You acted as if you had any intention of letting her die. 

When it came down to it, you mostly sought to stay out of the way. You didn’t come across Grace until you found her trying to get into a dumbwaiter that was occupied by the last surviving maid of the family estate. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Grace yelped and spun around. She held her hands up, and you noticed they were visibly shaking. “Y/N,” she said. “Please, don’t do this.” 

You saw the maid moving out of the dumbwaiter until she was standing behind Grace. The maid reached out and grabbed Grace by her shoulders. “I’ve got her! She’s right here.”

“Oh, you bitch,” Grace seethed, squirming to try to get out of the maid’s hold.

“It’s okay,” you told the maid, a woman you never bothered to learn the name of, since your family had a high turnover for maids. “You can let her go. I’ve got her.”

The maid grinned and let Grace go. You waited until she stepped away before you brought the gun in your hand up until you had it pointed at Grace. You walked forward, keeping your weapon raised, until you were within reaching distance of the maid. You motioned her over towards the dumbwaiter. “My sister is high and has killed two of the maids already. Why don’t you hide in the dumbwaiter until this is all over?” You were aware of Grace watching you warily, but you couldn’t let the maid know that you were intending to do anything other than hand Grace over to your family. You waited until the dumbwaiter doors were shut before you shot the controls, turning to offer Grace a grin. “She’ll be stuck in there for a while.” You grabbed Grace’s arm and hurried her into the closest room. “We don’t have much time.”

“What the fuck?” Grace asked. 

“Listen, I don’t want any part of this. I’m trying to get you out of here, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t deserve to die. This cycle can’t continue,” you answered.

Grace took in a shaky breath, still watching you as if she wasn’t sure if she could trust you. “Okay,” she finally said. “Where’s Alex?”

“Don’t worry about him,” you told her. “I can’t get him out without my family knowing where my loyalties lie.” 

“Then what are we going to do?”

“You’re going to leave,” you told her. “Run away as far as you can.” You held the gun in your hand out to her. “Take this and use it if you have to. Just get the fuck out of here.”

Grace seemed shocked as she reached out and grabbed the weapon from you. 

“There’s only about two rounds left in there, so make it count.”

Grace nodded her head. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” you told her. “You shouldn’t have been put into this position in the first place.”

Grace offered you a quick smile and you moved to the door to check the hallway. “I don’t see anyone,” you told her. “I can get you to a door, but then it’s up to you. Are you ready?”

Grace nodded her head and you took a deep breath. Hopefully, this would be the last time you saw Grace.

Of course, it all got fucked up. Stevens ended up capturing Grace. You felt sick knowing that her flight from the estate had just ended up wounding her even more. She was bleeding from her hand and there was a gash in her back. She seemed beaten down and exhausted and you wanted nothing more than to offer her a hug. You watched on the video streaming from the car Stevens was driving as she kicked his seat from the back of the car. You felt triumph when she managed to cause Stevens to crash the vehicle. You held a bit of hope that Grace could get away now, but it was quickly dashed when your father and oldest brother came back with Grace not long after.

You watched as Daniel settled Grace down on the ritual table. You met his eyes, hoping that he was still with you. He offered you a smile and nodded his head, and you couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Your older brother had a plan. You didn’t know what it was, but at this point, you were willing to go with anything.

His plan involved poison. He told you it wasn’t lethal, but that you still shouldn’t drink it when the time came in the ritual. You told him you understood, but you couldn’t help but feel nervous. If this didn’t work, then Grace would likely die and the ritual would be completed. You felt sick at the thought. 

You tried to keep your eyes off Grace once she woke up. You instead listened to the words your dad was chanting and tried to move on autopilot until the goblet of wine was passed around the group. 

You pretended to take a sip from the cup, sharing a look with Daniel before you passed it to him. You watched as he mimed taking a drink as well and then waited for the poison to take effect on the others. Once everyone started hunching over, crying out in pain, you acted like the poison took you down as well. Daniel rushed to untie Grace from the table while you crouched on the floor, waiting for your cue. 

You watched Daniel push Grace out of the room and waited to see if anyone followed them. When Charity stumbled out of the room, gun in her hand, you made your move.

You stepped out into the hallway, seeing Daniel shielding Grace with his body as Charity pointed her gun at them. 

"What's going on?"

"He's going to get us all killed, Y/N," Charity said, not bothering to look at you. "He doesn't care if any of us dies."

You saw fear in Daniel's eyes and it threw you off for a moment. You were so unaccustomed to seeing that look on your oldest brother's face. "Hey, Charity," you called. "I think you should see this."

She turned to look at you, her grip on the gun wavering. You waited until it was lowered before you swung your fist, catching her in the jaw. You watched her fall to the floor before you turned to look at Daniel. "Run. Get her out of here."

"What about you?" Daniel asked as he moved closer, his eyes wide as he watched you shake out your hand.

"I'll hold them off," you offered. “I can distract them or something. Just get her out of here.”

Daniel looked like he wanted to argue, but you held up a hand. 

"You don't have much time. Make a run for it."

Daniel sighed and then reached back to grab Grace's arm. "Love you, sis."

"Love you too," you called, hoping you weren't loud enough for anyone else to hear you. 

You looked down at Charity, wondering what the hell you should do about her. 

You heard a groan from behind you and turned to see that your father was slowly making his way out of the room to your right. You put your back to him, pulling out the knife you had hidden in the inner pocket of your coat. You moved to slice into your arm, hissing before you brushed the blood over your clothes and face, hoping to distract him from the fact that you weren’t really injured beyond your bruising knuckles. 

"Dad," you croaked, as you turned to face him.

"Y/N," he breathed. "What happened to you?"

"I tried to stop them," you said. "But they got out of here before I could." You held up your bloody hands, making them shake for effect. "They ran for the front door." You knew Daniel would take Grace out of the back of the house. If you played your cards right, then you could buy them some time. 

"Interesting," your dad mused. "Because I saw you knock Charity out. I know you're working with him."

"Dad," you said, poised to run. "I'm sure you saw wrong. It must be the poison Daniel used. It caused you to hallucinate."

"How could you betray your own family, Y/N?" He sounded hurt, as if the thought of you letting Daniel run away with the family sacrifice hurt more than Daniel actually poisoning the family. 

"I'm not," you finally said, taking a few steps back. You would have to make a run for it. If you could lead them away from Daniel and Grace, then maybe this could still work out in your favor. "You're not my family," you answered, feeling a rush at finally saying the words you had been thinking at every family gathering for years. 

"Oh, sweetheart," your dad said. It was then that you realized he was looking over your shoulder. 

You turned to see your mother standing behind you. "We'll fix this, Y/N," your mother said. You took a step away from her. "And then we'll have a nice family dinner and talk about what's been bothering you."

"This isn't something we can just hash out over a few cocktails! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"We can't let you get in the way. Tony," your mom started, sharing a look with your father.

"Fuck," you hissed, bringing up the knife in your hand. You didn't want to hurt your parents, but you were desperate to ensure that Daniel and Grace made it. 

You didn't get much of a chance to say anything before you heard the gunshot. You felt something tear through your side and when you looked down, it was to see blood soaking your shirt.  
"You shouldn't have punched me, you bitch," Charity snarled from where she was sitting up on the floor. 

You swayed, feeling like you were going to pass out. You glanced up to see Charity was standing now and smirking at you, blood dripping from her nose. You let your feet carry you towards her, bringing your knife up to slice into her gut. She gasped, her expression falling. "Now we match," you told her before you fell to your knees. 

"Y/N!" Your mom called. "Tony! Do something."

"We need to find Grace and kill her. I'm sure Mr. Le Bail won't let our daughter die if we complete the ritual in time."

You couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Oh, they're long gone," you found yourself saying, only belatedly realizing that at some point you had settled on the floor. You were staring up at the ceiling. You blinked, wondering why the room was spinning. "Long gone," you managed to get out before you passed out.

You woke up to the sound of voices. Someone was screaming. It sounded like Grace. "No," you groaned. She was supposed to be out of here by now. You rolled to the side, biting back on the whimper that wanted to break free. Your side was burning and every breath felt like it was just ripping the bullet hole wider, but you had to know what was happening. 

You noticed Charity was gone, which meant you hadn't managed to kill her.

"Well, damn," you muttered to yourself. You pushed yourself to your feet and stumbled towards the room you could hear the screaming coming from. You pushed opened the door and noticed Grace standing in the corner, brandishing a knife at Alex and the others. 

"Get the fuck away from me!" She screamed.

"What the fuck is going on?" You couldn't help but ask, looking to Grace. She looked even worse than before. You glanced around the room and didn't see Daniel or your mother. 

"Listen, Grace," Alex tried, holding his hands up.

"Oh shit," you breathed. "Alex?"

He turned to glance at you. You knew, then, that he had tried to go through with the ritual. You let out a disgusted noise at the thought that the brother Daniel thought was the best of all of you had tried to sacrifice his wife after all. "I fucking knew you weren't as good as Daniel said you were."

"Now, hold on," Alex started.

"Oh no," your Aunt Helene interrupted. "It's dawn!" She drew back the curtains to reveal that the sun had risen.

You saw the awe on Grace's face. You felt relief and couldn't help but let out a laugh. "We did it," you couldn't stop yourself from saying. You felt like you were going to pass out again, black spots dancing across your vision. You wondered if this was the curse or if the gunshot wound in your side had bled you enough to kill you. You stumbled until you could lean against the wall, your hand going to your side. You drew in a sharp breath when nothing seemed to be happening to your other family members. You had never really doubted the curse, but there was still a small feeling of hope at the thought that they would live. You would make sure they went to prison for their crimes, but at least they would live. 

It seemed your hope was short-lived, however. Once Helene charged at Grace with her ax and then exploded, it wasn't long before your other family members began to explode in a bloody chaos as well. After a couple of minutes, you and Alex were the only members of the Le Domas family left in the room. You listened as Alex pleaded with Grace, but it seemed his fate was sealed once she gave him back her ring, telling him she wanted a divorce. Grace had been laughing almost hysterically since Aunt Helene died and you knew that she was probably close to breaking down. At the sight of Alex bursting into a bloody mess of guts in front of her, you couldn’t help but wonder if there would ever be enough therapy to cover what was sure to be a truly astounding case of PTSD for Grace. 

You coughed, feeling your side pull painfully. You were leaning heavily against the wall now, not able to really hold yourself up any longer. You were sure you should have felt something other than numb at the sight of most of your family members dying right in front of you, but everything seemed to be slipping away from you. "For what it's worth," you started, surprised by how unhinged Grace looked when she glanced your way. "I'm glad you were never a part of the family." You managed to offer her a small smile before everything went dark. 

You didn’t really know what happened after that. For the most part, you felt like you were floating. You wondered if this was what death was supposed to be like. Floating and drifting in darkness until you were sorted into your appropriate afterlife destination. 

You weren’t sure where you were going, although you figured if your family had gained their fortune through a shady deal with a demon, then it wouldn’t be sunny and relaxing. 

You thought you heard people talking to you.

You heard Daniel’s voice, asking you to wake up. 

You heard a low, gruff voice telling you the deal was over. 

You heard Grace saying it wasn’t your fault.

You thought you smelled smoke. You were sure you felt the heat of flames. There was pain and bright lights just behind your eyelids. There was the rush of breath before you kept drifting, everything soft and unfocused. You dreamt of fire and flames eating away your family home. You imagined your brother’s hand in yours, recounting a daring rescue by firefighters and policemen. There were talks of surgery and recovery. You didn’t understand any of it, though. Surely, Hell didn’t offer a chance at rehabilitation. 

When you woke up, it took you longer than you were comfortable with to realize that you were alive. There was a pressure on your finger and a sound you couldn’t register yet. When you squinted around the room, you realized you were in a hospital room. You frowned down at the device monitoring your heartbeat, considering shaking it off. 

You tried to sit up, but there was a blinding pain in your side that had you gasping and dropping back onto the bed.

You had to wonder if any of it was real. Grace. The wedding. Hide and seek. Asking Daniel to help you get Grace away from your psychotic family. Charity shooting you. Alex’s betrayal. The death of your family. If you were here, then was any of it real? You should be dead too. 

“I know what you’re thinking,” came a voice from your side. You turned to see Grace sitting there in a chair by your bed. Her left hand had a bandage wound around it. She was clean and no longer coated in the layers of blood from her wedding night. “It was real,” she offered.

“How long?” You managed to ask.

“A few days,” she answered. She leaned forward in her chair, wincing as she reached out to pinch your arm. “See? You’re here.”

“Why are _you_ still here?” You couldn’t help but ask. “If I was you, then I would have left and never looked back.”

“You and Daniel were the only people who were willing to let me live,” Grace started. “You two are the only reason I’m alive now.”

“I’m sure you would have figured something out,” you tried to assure her. “You more than proved your resourcefulness last night.” You glanced around the room, wondering if any doctors or nurses were aware that you were awake. “But how the hell am I here? Why am I not dead?”

“If I had to guess?”

You nodded your head, gesturing for Grace to continue.

“I think you were allowed to live because you didn’t want to be a Le Domas. I think since you helped me and were willing to die, then you got to live.”

You couldn’t help but snort at the words. “Sounds like bullshit.”

Grace smirked at you. “It does, doesn’t it?”

You opened your mouth to reply, wanting to ask how long she planned on sticking around, before the door to your room swung open. You expected to see a nurse or a doctor, anyone who could give you pain meds, but were shocked by the sight of Daniel standing in the doorway. There was a bandage on his neck and he looked like he had gone through hell, but he was alive.

“Daniel?”

“Hey, little sis,” he said, walking into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Like your wife shot me,” you answered. “What the hell happened to you?”

Daniel reached up to touch his neck. “My ex-wife stabbed me in the neck.”

“Fuck,” was the only thing you could think of to say. 

“Yeah,” Daniel said, laughing with a wince. “Fuck.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to be in therapy for at least a few years,” Grace said. “I figure you two should join me.”

“I’ve always believed in the healing effects of alcohol,” Daniel said with a grin. He moved until he was standing by your bed. “What do you want to do now, sis?”

“No clue,” you answered. “I just want to get the fuck out of here.”

“Yeah,” Grace answered. “Me too.”

In the end, it was easy to denounce the Le Domas family name. You, Grace, and Daniel split the fortune that was left over. You had no intention of using it unless you needed groceries or something mundane. You didn’t want a mansion or a sports car. You didn’t want to own a professional sports team or keep up the family business. You just wanted to get the fuck away from the burned-out shell of your home. 

It turned out that no one else survived the game. Even the maid who should have been safe in the dumbwaiter had apparently been accidentally killed by Emilie at some point during that night.   
You moved into an apartment in New York with Daniel. Grace decided to take up the apartment next to yours, telling you that she didn’t know if she could go back to her old life now. You marveled at the fact that she would want to be anywhere near you and Daniel. More often than not, she fell asleep in your apartment. You were sure it had something to do with the fact that she usually woke up screaming in the middle of the night and needed to be reassured that she wasn’t still playing a sadistic game that would end in her death. 

It was hard to move on, but you eventually managed to feel like a normal person as time passed. You could see the burden of the decisions that still weighed heavily on Daniel’s shoulders. On any given night, one of you or all three of you were having night terrors. It took a toll on you all and sometimes, you wandered off by yourself, not bothering to keep in contact until you showed back up at the apartment weeks later. Sometimes you ended up driving halfway across the country, hiking out into the middle of the woods in whichever state you ended up in, and screaming your lungs out. Other times, you found yourself sitting in random hotel rooms, wondering how the hell you and Daniel managed to survive the Le Domas family deal. It was something that haunted your nightmares. You were sure that one day, Mr. Le Bail would change his mind and take you and your brother away. 

Over time, you all healed in your own ways. You got back in touch with your ex and while you were terrified that something would happen to them, you eventually rekindled your relationship. You weren’t blind to the fact that Daniel and Grace seemed to be circling each other as well. You didn’t envy them the awkward moments that were bound to arise at the thought of Alex or the torture you had all been through at the hands of your former family.

In a way, though, you formed your own family. You came to rely on Grace and Daniel to get you through your tough moments. You were there to hold Grace’s hair back when she had a nightmare and rushed to puke her guts out. You were there to keep Daniel from spiraling too much into an alcohol-induced daze. You distracted them when they needed it and let them bring you out of your darkest thoughts. Months after that ill-fated night, you realized that you wouldn’t have survived without Grace and Daniel to help you through everything. You knew that you loved them more than anything and were glad that you managed to get Grace through her wedding night. Through them, you finally began to understand what a family was supposed to be. 

It became a tradition to pile onto the couch in the apartment you shared with Daniel at least once a week. You usually ended up on one side of the couch, with Daniel sitting in the middle, and Grace on the other side. You usually ordered Chinese food or pizza and watched a terrible movie or TV show. There would be copious amounts of alcohol and attempts to forget for one night that the specter of the Le Domas family haunted you all. 

One Thursday night, you were watching some crappy reality TV show about roommates and making jokes about the people on the show, comparing them to Grace and Daniel. You were well on your way to being drunk when Daniel nudged you in the side with his elbow. You automatically nudged him back, thinking he was trying to annoy you.

Instead, he turned to face you, his eyes a bit glazed over. “Hey, stop that.”

“What? You started it,” you reminded him, nudging him again.

“I’m trying to tell you I was wrong, Y/N,” Daniel said as he reached out to take your drink from your hand. He leaned forward to put it on the coffee table and then wrapped his arm around your shoulders.   
“About what?” You were confused and leaned forward until you met Grace’s eyes, wondering if she had a clue what Daniel was talking about. She shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back to the show.

“You. You’re the best of us,” Daniel replied, squeezing your shoulders in a hug. 

You offered Daniel what you were sure was a dopey grin. You really loved your big brother. “You’re the best of us too.”

Grace snorted and turned to look at you and Daniel. “God, you two are sappy. I should have known this is what real families are like. Total sap fest.” She rolled her eyes, but you noticed that she was grinning.

“Oh, shut up. You love it,” you told her, motioning for her to join in on the embrace between you and your brother.

Grace pushed forward until she had an arm wrapped around your waist and one around Daniel’s shoulders. “You know what?” She asked as she grinned at you. “I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you read this and are interested in reader inserts for Walking Dead, The Umbrella Academy, or Stranger Things, then please feel free to check out my other fics. I'm also sort of planning an It reader insert, but that won't happen for a while. 
> 
> Thank you to anyone who shows this some love. ♥


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